The Watchonista Academy: Our Staff Favorites from the GPHG 2026 Finalists, Part I
Spitfire Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month
The Spitfire Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month is the first IWC Pilot’s Watch to feature a digital display showing the date and month in large numerals. It was inspired by cockpit instrumentation that shows vital data, such as altitude, in figures. The four-year leap year cycle is also displayed digitally. The energy required to move the numeral discs is generated by a quick-action switch designed specifically for this purpose.
During the switching sequence that takes place every night around 12 o’clock, it siphons off a little energy, which it then saves and discharges instantaneously at the end of the month or year. The perpetual calendar can be set easily using the crown. It will not require intervention by a watchmaker until the year 2100, a year that breaks with the conventional four-year cycle and will not be a leap year.
The hours and minutes recorded by the stopwatch can be read off on the totalizer at “12 o’clock” as easily as reading the time, while the central chronograph hand shows the elapsed seconds. Thanks to the integrated flyback function, the stopwatch hand can be returned to zero and immediately starts recording another period of time.
The watch owes its premium-quality look to the vibrant interchange of polished and satin-finished surfaces on the 18-carat red gold case. The shimmering, slate-coloured, metallic dial has a sun-pattern finish that creates a captivating contrast with the warm gold tone and the brown of the alligator leather strap.
Specs
Functions
Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Perpetual Calendar, Stopwatch, Leap Year, Flyback Chronograph
Movement
Manufactured, Swiss Made
Case
Red Gold, Polished, 17.50mm (thinness) x 46.00mm (diameter)
Buckle
Deployment Buckle
Glass
Sapphire
Water resistance
6.00atm / 60.00m / 200.00ft
Year
2012
Reference number
IW379103
